2020 Nurse Practitioner Highlights: Faith Moore Cruz

It's the last day of Nurse Practitioner Week 2020 and we'd like to highlight Faith Moore Cruz. Faith is CAPN's 2020 President-Elect and is also the FNPN Political Action Committee Region 1 Trustee. 

Where do you work?

I am currently employed at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare’s Urgent Care Center, providing direct care to patients with acute healthcare complaints. One thing I love about working there is that we are part of a non-profit healthcare system and we accept Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the majority of healthcare insurance providers and their subsidiaries.

What is your specialty area?

I am dual board-certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner and Emergency Nurse Practitioner. I received my BSN from UF, my MSN from FSU, and recently, my DNP in Leadership from Mizzou.

Why did you want to become a nurse practitioner?

My path to becoming a nurse practitioner was really a natural extension of my passion of becoming a nurse. My grandfather passed away my sophomore year of college after he eventually lost his battle against cancer. Our family received several letters from healthcare workers sharing all the positive experiences that that they had with him throughout his treatment. I decided immediately that I needed to declare nursing as my major because I wanted to become a nurse that could care for patients during difficult times in their lives, in hopes to make their experience as positive as possible. Fast forward 13 years later, I am now transitioning into more of a leadership role as an advanced practice nurse within my healthcare organization with the goal of continuously improving access to quality care for patients.

How has COVID-19 changed your practice?

COVID-19 has been such a challenge for everyone worldwide, and my heart goes out to all the healthcare workers, essential workers, and literally everyone who has been personally affected by this pandemic in one way or another. We never stopped working. We never shut down. We never stayed home. Thus, the change has not been so obvious for us. The biggest challenge we faced in the beginning was figuring out how to continue to provide healthcare to our community while continuing to uphold the highest safety standards for our patients and staff. I can confidently say we have done an excellent job in doing so.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Becoming a nurse practitioner is hands- down one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I cannot imagine myself doing anything different. I strongly encourage anyone with a caring heart who is interested in a career in healthcare to consider becoming an advanced practice nurse. There are so many directions you can take within the career field to ensure you find the perfectly fitting role.